Michigan state representative, Richard Hammel, field questions about the economy

On Feb. 20, Clio Messenger reporter Jared Field sat down with Michigan Representative Richard Hammel (D-Mt. Morris Township) to talk about the state of Michigan's economy and the recently signed federal stimulus package.

Jared Field: How do you respond to constituents who express fears about the economy?

Richard Hammel: I certainly can't disagree with them based on what I see. When you watch national markets you have to be concerned because you see the trends. The trend in Michigan has been this way for quite some time, but you are now starting to see other states struggle, too. I've told people that I don't know that it's going to get much better for another year or so. I think a lot depends on what happens with the stimulus package.

JF: Recent polls have indicated some popular suspicion about the federal stimulus package. Do you think it will have its intended effect?

RH: I believe it will have an effect, but I'm not sure what the effect will be. Obviously the intended effect is for it to be this wonderful thing that will make things better. I don't think that's true, but it might stop (the economy) from getting worse ... don't think there's a guarantee that anything's going to work, who knows? I think everyone is just guessing; but, I think not doing anything would make it a lot worse.

JF: Michigan's projected share of the federal stimulus money is $7 billion. Is that enough for this state?

RH: No. That's nowhere near the request. We should get a little more of our fair share. I don't think it's enough for us. There's talk about another package that might happen somewhere down the road. It's hard to say just exactly what will work.

JF: In a recent news release, you talked about the importance of spending money "the right way." What is the right way?

RH: I think the money for unemployment extension is good. Most everything that I've seen, I'm excited about because it's new stuff. So, I think it is being spent the right way so far. But, I think that what we have to do as a state is figure out how to spend our general fund dollars the right way.

JF: In recent weeks, Gov. Granholm and Lt. Gov. Cherry have been highlighting efforts to streamline the state government to cut costs. Should we expect similar strides at the federal level?

RH: I think they need to. That's where a lot of the waste is. Think about every level of government that gets bigger and bigger. Think about the state level where you have 18 departments a lot of employees, there is no doubt in my mind if you really sat back and took a look at where people aren't really adding much value, you could cut the state budget significantly, and at the federal level it has to be huge, I mean exponentially bigger than what we're trying to deal with here in the state.